RESOLVING CONFLICT AND BUILDING CONSENSUS Differences are a part of life. Although differences provide new ideas and create new possibilities for teams, they also can lead to negative outcomes on the job. Included with this Participant Workbook are the following guidebooks, published by Richard Chang Associates, Inc. Team Decision-Making Techniques Success Through Teamwork Since differences, disagreements, and conflicts are inevitable and not inherently good or bad, their value to teams in an organization depends on the way the team perceives and manages them. Teams can use an array of tools and techniques to address differences, resolve conflicts, and make decisions. Team members can build upon the opportunities that team diversity provides to draw out each individual s strengths and unique abilities for the greater good of the team. This requires that team members appropriately apply the kinds of tools presented in this session. Learning Objectives Upon completion of this session, you will be able to: 1. Choose and apply appropriate conflict-resolution and consensusbuilding strategies. 2. Respond to the communication needs of diverse team members by applying two processes designed to enhance communication. 3. Select and implement six team decision-making techniques. Agenda Choosing Team Conflict-Resolution Strategies Resolving Conflict (And Building Consensus) In Six Steps Communicating In Diverse Teams Gaining Team Consensus Exploring Team Decision-Making Techniques 1
Choosing Team Conflict-Resolution Strategies (cont.) STRATEGY WHEN TO USE IT WHEN NOT TO USE IT Postpone Enforce Accommodate Compromise Explore Do you need more time to understand the issue? Is the issue trivial and will it resolve itself? Do the damages of continued discussion outweigh the benefits? Are you overwhelmed with too many other issues already? Has the decision already been made? Is this an emergency? Do you believe you must defend this position? Is it an issue that you thought was settled but has now resurfaced? Does the other person know more about this than you? Is the other point of view more appropriate? Do you want to preserve harmony? Are you willing to accept what you cannot change? Are each position s goals mutually exclusive? Do you need to achieve a temporary settlement to a complex issue? Are you willing to bend on your position to reach an agreement? Are there elements of the other position which are so important that you are willing to concede on elements of your position? Is the issue too important to delay or compromise? Is your goal to merge insights and perspectives? Do you need to gain a consensus and commitment? Do you want to work through hard feelings? If this remained unresolved, will it grow into a larger issue? Are important decisions being made by default? Are others dependent on you? Are others around you tired, afraid of you, or don t want to admit uncertainty? Do you always go along with the other side? Do you neglect your own concerns to satisfy others? Is the climate overly competitive and lacking trust? Have you lost sight of larger issues (e.g., principles, values, welfare)? Will others not be committed to the outcomes? Are differences of opinion not viewed as opportunities for joint gain? 4
RESOLVING CONFLICT (AND BUILDING CONSENSUS) IN SIX STEPS Although all five strategies can be effective in various situations, the Explore strategy is often the favorite choice for resolving important issues in a team-oriented environment. Using this strategy allows you to increase the likelihood of creating a joint resolution, gaining team consensus, and maintaining harmony. To implement this strategy, use the following six steps. Step 1: Acknowledge that conflict exists Step 2: Identify the real conflict Step 3: Hear all points of view Step 4: Together explore ways to resolve the conflict Step 5: Gain agreement on, and responsibility for, a solution Step 6: Schedule a follow-up session to review the resolution Success Through Teamwork Pages 45 55 These six steps, when applied by a team, will form the model for resolving conflicts in a dynamic and responsible way. 6
Communicating In Diverse Teams (cont.) Understanding Frames Of Reference To help understand the actions and attitudes of others who have frames of reference different from your own, you can use two simple processes. Process 1: Accurately Interpret Behavior Step 1: Describe behaviors Step 2: Discover causes Step 3: Determine agreements Process 2: Devise Appropriate Solutions Step 1: Identify solutions Step 2: Designate a possible solution Step 3: Develop an ongoing awareness Using these processes can help you accurately interpret the behavior of team members who think or act differently than you. Life s influences and experiences beginning in childhood create a person s frames of reference. In the guidebook, Success Through Teamwork, pages 66 73 detail the way these processes work. Success Through Teamwork Pages 66 73 10
Exercise # 3 APPLYING THE TWO PROCESSES FOR ENHANCED COMMUNICATION Using the Success Through Teamwork guidebook, pages 66 73, work through the two processes to come up with some communication interpretations and solutions for at least one of the following case scenarios. Record your responses on the next page. Situation A Situation B Mark, a twenty-five-year-old Caucasian with an impressive track record, was recently asked to be a team leader on a project team at your organization. The team is a diverse group both in culture and in gender. After working on the project for a week, Mark called a meeting in which he meticulously explained his plan to restructure a key process in order to increase productivity by ten percent. The team agreed to try the new process. Later that afternoon, Mark could see that several members of the team were not doing the new process correctly. He finally stopped Gonzalo, who was doing the process completely wrong. Mark called the entire team over, again explained the process, and forcefully told them that the next time they didn t understand something to please ask questions. The Challenge: Mark still has not fully communicated with the other members of his team, yet he doesn t know why. You are presently involved with a cross-functional team that is perfecting a new design software for an automated baggage tracking system for airlines. The team includes individuals that represent nine different countries. You also have team members from various functional divisions, including Research and Development, Sales and Marketing, Production, Legal, Engineering, Installation, and Human Resources. Recently, Muriel (a young R & D team member from France) has expressed concerns that the team is moving forward too quickly. She feels that other team members are concerned with meeting deadlines at the expense of perfecting the software. Muriel wants to slow down and get the bugs out of the software before the team moves on to installation challenges. In your last team meeting (via conference call), Muriel attempted to raise a red flag to the group by expressing a small concern over the amount of rework that may be created if the group moves ahead. Actually, the small concern uncovered by Muriel could cost your company millions of dollars in revenue and lost customers if Muriel is correct. The other team members have chosen not to listen to Muriel. Instead they tease her about always being a pessimist. They have decided to ignore her concern and move ahead. The Challenge: The team does not fully understand the ramifications of Muriel s concern. Success Through Teamwork Pages 66 73 11
EXPLORING TEAM DECISION-MAKING TECHNIQUES Effective team decision-making is critical to team success. The following decision-making techniques can help your team identify problems, analyze alternatives, find solutions, and make lasting decisions. Please review them in the Team Decision-Making Techniques guidebook. BRAINSTORMING/FILTERING stimulates creativity. After generating choices by brainstorming, use a set of filters to select the best options. Brainstorming can be used alone or in combination with other techniques (Chapter Three). The NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE combines aspects of silent voting with limited, face-to-face discussion. This technique is often used when you want to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in the decision (Chapter Four). The DELPHI TECHNIQUE involves receiving and comparing multiple rounds of anonymous input from team members on an issue. Use this method when team members are far apart in viewpoints, and you need to remove the bias that may occur in personal contact (Chapter Five). Use the CONSENSUS CARD METHOD when you want to continuously monitor each person s position on an issue. The consensus card is a visual aid each individual uses as a personal traffic light (Chapter Six). The PAIRED-CHOICE MATRIX is an organized way of deciding among similar alternatives. Your group makes a series of choices between pairs until you eliminate all inappropriate options (Chapter Seven). The CRITERIA RATING TECHNIQUE allows you to objectively evaluate alternatives against your group s criteria. It s a valuable tool to deal with complex or lingering team decisions/problems (Chapter Eight). These decision-making techniques will make your team function more effectively. They can help you discover problems, analyze alternatives, find solutions to problems, and make lasting decisions. Using these techniques will also increase group harmony and efficiency and build consensus. Team Decision-Making Techniques Chapters Three Through Eight 15
RESOLVING CONFLICT AND BUILDING CONSENSUS Personal Action Plan Key learnings: I need to contact and involve the following: Name How When The specific action steps I will carry out on the job include: What When 1. 2. 3. Additional issues/concerns I need to address: 20